Target pistol



June 14, 1960 M. D. HARPER TARGET PISTOL 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001;. 4, 1957 INVENTOR.

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M. D. HARPER 2,940,202

TARGET PISTOL 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 June 14, 1960 Filed Oct. 4, 1957 m9 Hm I @P 0 58 has & w 95 wmt m @251? mm mm .wN

June 14, 1960 M. D. HARPER 2,940,202

TARGET PISTOL Filed Oct. 4, 1957 4 sheets sheet 4 Murry 0. Harper 1 N VE N TOR TARGET PISTOL Murry D. Harper, 218 22nd St., Dunbar, W. Va. Filed Oct. 4, 1957, Ser. No. 688,277 8 Claims. (Cl. 42-69) The present invention generally relates to improved and novel constructions in a firearm and particularly to a single shot manually loaded target pistol.

.An object of the present invention is to provide a target pistol which is extremely simple in construction, easy to load, safe, accurate, and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

. Another object of the present invention is to provide a single shot manually loaded target pistol in which the force of the explosion of the powder or expulsion of the projectile forces a sliding bolt to a retracted position and also extracts the cartridge casing from the breech with the firing pin acting as an ejector for ejecting the spent cartridge laterally out of the receiver.

- A further important object of the present invention is to provide a target pistol in accordance with the preceding objects in which a novel trigger and sear arrangement is provided which cooperates with the bolt and firing pin whereby a first pull upon thetrigger will release the bolt to a closed position after a cartridge has been inserted into the breech with the sear holding the firing pin in retrac'ted position while the bolt is being closed whereby a second pull upon the trigger will release the firing pin for firing the cartridge which in turn forces the bolt and firing pin back to retracted position with the sear catching and holding the bolt in retracted position thus enabling re loading of the breech with the remainder of the operation being responsive to movement of the trigger.

'A further object of the present invention is to provide ,a target pistol having turret sights at the rear of the receiver so that different types of sights or different levels of sights may be employed for difierent yardage.

52,949,202 Patented June 14, 1960- the cartridge loaded into the breech end of the barrel;

Figure 4 is a sectional view similar to Figure 3 illustrating the relationship of the elements when the trigger has been pulled once with the bolt closed and the sear holding the'firing pin in set position;

Figure 5 is a sectional view similar to Figure 3 illustrating the relationship of elements when the firing pin has been released and immediately before the force of the explosion of the cartridge has forced the bolt and firing pin to retracted position and extracted the cartridge from the breech;

Figure 6 is a rear elevational view of the target pistol illustrating the turret sight arrangement for providing different types of sights;

Figure 7 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 7-7 of Figure 2 illustrating further structural details of the turret sight arrangement;

Figure 8 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 8-8 of Figure 2 illustrating the manner in which the hand grips are secured in position on the depending skeletonized handle;

Figure 9 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 99 of Figure 2;

Figure 10 is a detailed sectional view taken substan- V tially upon a plane passing along section line 1010 of Yet another object of the present invention is to pro- 1 vide a taper or incline in the breech end of the barrel for guiding the cartridges into the breech thus simplifying the loading operation.

Another important feature of the present invention is which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and inwhich:

Figire 1 is a perspective view of the target pistol of the present invention illustrating the bolt in open position ready for loading;

Figure v2 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view taken substantiallyupon a plane passing along section line 2-2 .of-Figure 1 illustrating the details of construction of the targ t p Figure 3 is a detailed sectional view of the bolt and mechanism together with the trigger and sear Figure 2 illustrating the end construction of the bolt and the safety for the trigger;

Figure 11 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 11-11 of Figure 2 illustrating the construction of the firing pin and the depending lug which the sear engages for holding the firing pin in retracted position;

Figure 12 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section 12-12 of Figure 2 illustrating the pin which pivotally and slidably mounts the sear;

Figure 13 is an exploded group trigger and sear assembly; and

Figure 14 is an exploded group perspective view of the sliding bolt, firing pin and firing pin spring and guide. Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the target pistol of the present invention which includes a one-piece frame generally designated by'the numeral 12 and including a tubular receiver 14 having an upwardly facing enlarged opening 16 therein; Projecting forwardly from the front end' of the receiver 14 is a barrel portion 1% having an upstanding blade type sight 20 on the forward end thereof. Disposed within the barrel portion 18 is a barrel 22 having the usual spiral grooves or rifiing 24 therein. The inner end of the barrel 22 designated as the breech 26 is disposed in the forward end "of the tubular receiver 14 and the breech 26 of the barrel is provided'with an inwardly inclined end Wall 28 for forming a guide for ease of insertion of a cartridge 30 into the breech 26 of the barrel 22. The portion of the receiver 14 rearwardly of the breech 26 of the barrel 22 defines a longitudinally elongated cylindrical passage 32for slidably receiving a cylindrical bolt 34 which has the forward end 36 thereof tapered complementary to the taper on the breech 26'of the barrel 22 for closing the same and retaining the cartridge 30 in position.

The bolt 34 is provided with a transverse groove or kerf 38 adjacent the forward end 36 anda transverse handle member 44 is positioned in the groove 38 with the transverse member 40 being held therein by a setscrew 42. The outer surface of the handle '40 is serrated as indicated by numeral 44 for providing a better grip for the handle 40. Also, the outer ends of the handle 40 overlie the upper edges of the side walls defining the opening 16'in the receiver '14 thus preventing perspective view of the rotation of the bolt 34 and generally guiding the sliding movement of the bolt 34 in the-tubular passage 32 in the receiver 14. a i

The rear end of the tubular passage 32 is provided with a" closure cap 46 screw threaded thereto and receiving an annular ring or turret 46between the cap 44 and the rear end of the receiver 14, whereby the cap 44 may be loosened for permitting rotation of the ring 4-6. The ring 46 is provided'with circumferentially' spaced sights 48, d, and '52 which are ofdiffe rent types and which are of dilferent levels. For example, the sight 48 is of the peep sight type in which a small opening is provided in an upstanding plate which may be desirable for one distance while the V-shaped notch type of sight 50 may be desirable for another yardage and a U-shaped notch type of sight 52 may be desirable for another yardage. Also, certain individuals may prefer one type of sight to the other. By loosening the cap '44 and 1'0- 4 a the rear end of the sleeve 74 when the firing pin 72 projects from the forward end of the bolt 34 with theguide pin 80 being substantially completely received within the sleeve 74 when the firing pin 72 is held in retracted position. The sleeve 74 is provided with a depending lug 82 at the rear end thereof which is slidably received within the slot diiwith the inner end of the slot 68 forming a limit for the forward rnovernent thereof and the lug 82 projects below the bolt 34 and facilitates the retaining of the firing pin 72 in retracted position when the bolt 3d moves forwardly to a closed position. The tubular passage 32 is provided with a longitudinal groove 84 receiving the lower end of the lug 82 thus generally forming a guide for the sliding movement of the projection tating the turret 46, any of the three types of sights 7 may be brought to the uppermost position for association with the blade sight at the forward end of the barrel for aiming the target pistol in a manner well known.

The rear end of the bolt 34 is provided with an inwardly extending cylindrical socket 54 defined by a relatively thin peripheralwall for receiving the enlarged end '56 of a spring guide and follower 58 which is received within the confines of a recoil spring 60. The recoil spring 6% encircles the guide or follower 58 and has one end abutting against the enlarged head 56 of the guide which engages the inner end of the socket '54 whereby the recoil spring 60 urges the bolt 34 towards a closed position or towards the breech of the barrel of the pistol. The cap 44 is also provided with an inwardly extending 1 socket 62 extending from the forward end thereo-f which receives a major portion of the spring '60 and also receives a resilient disk 64 in the bottom thereof which engages the end of the spring 60 opposite from the enlarged head 56 and will also act as a cushion for reducing shock caused by movement of the bolt 34 towards a retracted position at an excessive speed; The spring 60 is the recoil spring and is calibrated for a particular type of cartridge having a particular firing power or quantity of powder. For instance, the spring 60 could be calior lug 82.

The tubular receiver 14 is provided with a depending skcletonized handle '86 which is substantially hollow as indicated by the numeral 8'8 and provided with a' pair of hand grips 9b which may be of wood or similar mate- I, rial. Each of the hand grips 90 is provided with grooved facing surfaces '92 for partial telescoping into the hollow interior of the handle 86. A pair of screw threaded fasteners 94 extend through the hand grips 90 in aligned relation to each other and are received within an inter= nally threaded spacer sleeve 96 whereby the hand grips 90 are retained on the handle. As illustrated in Figure 1, each of the hand grips 9% has an upper end extension portion which lies alongside a major portion of the receiver 1'4 with this portion of the hands grips 90 being designated by the numeral 98. This portion 98 of the hand grips 9i serves the purpose of retaining the various'pivot pins and retaining pins of the trigger and sear assembly in position so that the same will be properly retained.

At the upper end of the handle 86, a trigger guard 100 is provided with the trigger guard being at the forward portion of the handle 86 and joining the forward portioii of the'handle '86 with the forward portion of the receiver 14 and providing an enlarged opening 102 for brated so that when a .22 caliber shot was fired, the bolt 34 would be forced rearwardly so thatthe spring 60 would be just completely collapsed. With the same spring, a .22 caliber long or .22 caliber long rifle could be fired with the cushioning member 64 taking up the shock due to the increased force exerted on the bolt 34 thereby preventing damage to the pistol in the event a cartridge was fired having a larger explosive force than the force for which the spring was calibrated. The recoil spring 60 urges the guide and follower 58 and the bolt 34 towards the barrel end of the pistol at all times.

Extending inwardly from the inner end of the socket 5'4 and adjacent the bottom edge thereof is a longitudinal bore 66 which has a longitudinal slot 68 communicating the bore 66 with the bottom wall of the bolt 34 for a portion of the'length thereof which is generally equivalent to one-half the length of the bolt 34. The slot 68 extends to the rear end of the bolt '34 and terminates adjacent the bottom center of the bolt 34.- The longitudinal bore 66 includes a smaller bore 70 at the forward end of the bolt and communicating with the front end 36 of the bolt 34 for receiving a firing pin 72 therein.

The firing pin is slidably received within the smaller. longitudinal bore 70 and is integral with a tubular sleeve v 74 slidable within. the longitudinal bore 66 with the juncture between the pin 72 and sleeve 74 engaging the shoulder defined by the juncture between the borev 66 and bore 70, thus limiting the forward sliding movement of the firing pin 72. A firing pin spring 76 has'ene end disposed within and abutting the inner end of the sleeve 74. The other end of the spring 76 engages theheaded end 78 of a spring guide pin 80 Which'is received within the spring 76 and has the forward end thereof projecting into receiving a trigger finger. The receiver 14- is provided with a vertical passage 104 immediately under the opening 16 which receives a curved trigger 106 having a longitudinally extending body 108 at the upper end; The

longitudinally extending body 108 is provided with a longitudinally elongated slot 110 and an enlarged circular opening 112 extending transversely therethrough. The forward end of the body .108 is provided with a projection 114 forming an abutment for the upper end of a trigger spring 116 which has the lower end thereof re ceived within a seat 118'in the receiver 14whereby the trigger 106 is urged continuously to a normal position with the curved finger receiving portion of the trigger 106 urged forwardly. A transverse pin 120 is inserted through the slot 110 and is received in the walls of the vertical opening 104. A pin 122 is inserted into the enlarged opening 112 and is received within the walls of the opening 104. The extensions 98 on the handgrip's overlie the endsof the pins and 122 and prevent accidental displacement thereof. The rear end of the body 108 is substantially arcuate and provided with a pair of ratchet teeth designated by numerals 124 and 126 for engagement with the forward end 128 of a scar 130. The sear '130 is provided with a longitudinally elongated slot 132 extending transversely therethrough for receiving a mounting pinl34 which is similar to either of the pins 120 or 122 and held in positioninthe 7 same way. The rear bottom of the searv is provided with a recess 136 having an upper surface forwardly and upwardly inclined for abutting one end of a soar spriri-g 138 which hasthe other end thereof received within a seat or socket 140 in the bottom of the receiver 14. The rear end of the sear 130 is inclined as designated bythe numeral 142 and forms a catch for engagement withflie forward end 316 of the bolt 34 and also for engagement with the depending lug 82 on the" sleeve 74 to which tlie' firing pin 72'isattached'.

Immediately'forwardlyof the'trigger 106 is a transverse bore 144 receiving a transversely slidable safety generally designated by the .numeral 146 which has enlarged cylindrical ends 148, a very small central area 150 and an intermediate size area 152. When the small central area 150 is in registry with the transverse groove 154 in the front wall of the body 108 of the trigger 106, the trigger 106 may be pivoted in the desired manner for firing the gun. However, when the intermediate size portion 152 is in engagement with the groove '154, the trigger is prevented from being pivoted thus providing a safety for preventing accidental firing of the gun. The enlarged portions 148 will not enter the transverse bore 144 with the trigger 106 inposition since the trigger body will be in the way of such passage. However, after the trigger has been removed, the safety may be moved by transverse slidingmovement and may be inserted from the other side thereof whereby the safety may be operated from either side for facilitating operation thereof by persons which shoot either left handed or right handed.

The one-piece die cast aluminum frame with inserted barrel eliminates costly assembly and is so designed that the cavity for the trigger and sear can be cored through the access hole "16 in the receiver which overlies this opening. The breech end of the inserted barrel is countersunk or inclined at approximately 20 for the ease of loading a cartridge therein. The turret sight mounts at the rear of the gun may be provided with index means for indexing the' turret to' the desired position and this index means may be in the'forrn of detents or recesses designated by the numeral 47 as shown in Figure 7. This provides for difierent sights or different types of sights of different heights for different yardage of shooting.

The single piece safety is dropped into 'a hole in the frame before the trigger is put in place. The smallest diameter is the firing position and the second smallest diameter is the safe position. The two large end diameters will bump the edges of the trigger and will not fall out of the gun after the trigger is in place. The safety may be inserted in the gun in either direction without any modification or further machining so that the safety may be operated by either left or right handed shooters.

It is pointed out that both the trigger spring and the sear spring are so mounted that force is exerted which has two components, that is a horizontal component as well as a vertical component for assisting in the movement of the trigger and sear as limited by the enlarged openings therein.

In employing the gun, the gun is initially manually cocked by pulling the bolt back manually by grasping the handles or finger grips on the bolt. The cartridge or shell is then inserted into the breech of the barrel. When the bolt is retracted, the sear engages the front end 36 thereof and retains the bolt in cocked or retracted position during the loading operation. The trigger is now pulled which releases the sear from the front end of the bolt and permits the bolt to move forwardly to a closed position inasmuch as the bolt is urged by the recoil spring. The sear catches the lug 82 which is rigid with the firing pin so that as the bolt moves forwardly, the firing pin will be retained in retracted position whereby the firing pin spring will be compressed so that when the lug 82 is released, the firing pin spring will urge the firing pin forwardly for engagement with the end of the shell or cartridge for firing the same. The lug on the firing pin is released by a second pull on the trigger which moves the sear out of engagement with the lug 82, so that the firing pin spring will urge the firing pin into engagement with the end of the cartridge for firing the same. The elongated slot in the sear lets it disengage from the trigger and be in a position to catch the bolt and hold it open as it flies back towards an open position due to the explosion of the cartridge and the recoil forces exerted by the cartridge as it expels the projectile from the barrel.

This explosion and the forces thereof will also force the cartridge out of the breech end of the barrel and since the firing pin is projecting from the bottom edge of the front end of the bolt, the firing pin will engage the bottom edge of the shell or cartridge case thus ejecting it upwardly out of the receiver. The scar then catches the bolt and retains it in cocked or retracted position until the loading operation is again carried out.

The elongated hole in the trigger lets the trigger ratchet to catch sear at a new level for the second pull. The round hole inthe trigger and the small pin extending therethr'ough controls movement of the trigger without having expensive stops associated with the trigger which are usually necessarily milled. The elongated hole in the sear also lets it disengage from the trigger after the firing pin is released and lets it catch the bolt as the explosion opens the bolt. Thus, the elongated openings serve to permit disengagement of the scar and trigger each time the trigger is actuated. The operation of the trigger and sear are clearly set forth in Figures 3-5 of the drawings showing the three positions of the mechanism. Figure 3 illustrates the device cocked and loaded ready for an initial pull on the trigger which will release the bolt for movement to a closed position. This is effected by upward forcebeing exerted on the front ofthe sear thus moving the rear of the sear downwardly. As the rear end of the sear moves downwardly and the front end thereof moves upwardly the rear end of the sear will disengage from the bolt 34 and catch the lug 82 and the rear. edge of the trigger may then ratchet past the front end of the sear so that the front end of the sear is then engaged with the upper ratchet tooth 126 as. shown in Figure 4 so that. upon second pulling of the trigger, the sear will bedisengaged from the lug '32 and since the rear end thereof will be free, the sear will tend to move rearwardly and disengage from the. trigger at the same timeth'e trigger will tend to move forwardly due to the fulcruming about the small pivot pin 122, thus releasing the sear so that the sear spring urges the rear end thereof back into position for catching the front end of the bolt when it is moved to the retracted or cocked position.

Actually, the sear serves two purposes in that it catches and releases the bolt on the first action or level and catches and releases the firing pin on the second action or secondlevel with this double action being facilitated by the particular arrangement of springs and mounting means for the scar and trigger.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling Within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A target pistol comprising a frame having a hollow receiver having an access opening therein, a barrel extending from said receiver, a depending handle on said receiver, a sliding bolt in said receiver for closing the breech end of the barrel, a firing pin mounted on said bolt for longitudinal sliding movement, spring means urging the bolt towards the breech end of the barrel, spring means urging said pin towards the breech end of the barrel, a scar for releasably retaining the bolt and pin in retracted position and sequentially releasing the bolt and pin, and a trigger for actuating said sear, and means interconnecting the trigger and sear for releasing the bolt for closing the breech end of the barrel upon initial movement of the trigger and releasing the firing pin upon second movement of the trigger for firing a cartridge, said spring means urging the bolt to a closed position being calibrated whereby the force exerted by the firing of a cartridge will eject the cartridge and force the bolt to a retracted position with the sear holding; the bolt in retracted position so that an unfired cartridg'e maybe portion, the breech end of said barrel, being disposed adjacent said access opening for loadin a cartridgeinto the barrel, saidbreech end being countersunk for roviding a taper for guiding cartridges into the breech end of the barrel. 7 I

i 3. The combination of claim '1, wherein said spring means urging the bolt towards the breech end of the barrel includes a recoil spring extending between the rear of the receiver and said bolt, a guide on the bolt and extending into the spring, said recoil spring beingv calibrated for a particular type of cartridge, and a cushion device disposed between theouterend .of the spring and the receiver for engaging the guide, and cushioning the bolt in the event the bolt moves rearwardly beyond the point of complete compression of the recoil spring.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said spring means for the firing pinis disposed betweenthefi'ring pin and the bolt, and guide means on the belt for guiding the movement of the pin. I v

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said-meansinterconne'c'ting the trigger and sear includespa pair'of ratchet teeth on said trigger with the sear engaged with one of the ratchet teeth when the sear isengaged with, the front end of the bolt for limiting the movement, of the sear so that the sear willsubsequently hold thefiring pin in retracted position during theinitial pull of-the trigger, the sear then being engaged with the second ratchettooth on the trigger after the'trigger. has beenreleasedso that the sear may be moved for releasing the firing p n, the movement of the sear during the second pulling movement of the trigger rendering the connection between the triggerand sear inefiective so'that the sear will catch the bolt when it is retracted due to'the. explosion of. the cartridge V i t 6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said receiver includes a longitudinally extending barrel receiving portion, said barrel being inserted into saidbarrel receiving portion, thebreech end of said barrel being disposed adjacent said access opening for loading a cartridgeinto the barrel, said breech end'being countersunk for providing a. taper for guiding cartridges into the breech of the barrel.

,7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said bolt is provided with a transverse notch in the uppersurface thereof, a transverse handle disposed in said notch and extendinglaterally from the bolt, said. handle slidably engaging theedges of said access opening for providing for manual retraction of the belt for initial loading and preventing rotation of the bolt in the receiver. 7

t. 8. ,The combination of claim 5 wherein said trigger and sear are mounted for limited body movement, the connectionv between the sear and frame and between the trigger and frame including a pin and slot connection.

References Cited in the file of this. patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 810,177 Turudija Ian. '16, 1906 1,017,119 Toborg Feb. 13, 1912 1,143,472 Whiting Iune 15, 1915 2,097,782 Browning Nov; 2, 1937 2,495,428 Simonson et al. Jan. 24, 1950 2,659,994 Yale Nov; 24, 1953 2,751,820 1 Pope June'26, 19,56 7 2,785,605 Jourdat Ma'r. 19, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS f w i 1,034,121 France Apr; 8, 1953 1954 495,919 Italy July 28, 

